Xixi Wang

What if your summer could change how you see yourself, and how the world hears you?

For over a decade, TED-Ed has helped hundreds of thousands of students around the world find their voices, passion, and confidence with TED-Ed Student Talks. Now, in partnership with the renowned organization Immerse Education, TED is offering a more intensive opportunity for students to discover, shape, and share their best ideas under the guidance of expert tutors over the summer.

TED Summer School is a transformative two-week summer program for motivated students aged 15 to 18, with each participant building confidence, storytelling mastery, and leadership skills through core theory and practical sessions, guest speaker events, as well as personal coaching. Students have the option of participating either in-person in London, New York, or Singapore, or 100% remotely through the virtual program. Both the in-person and virtual programs include live, small group instruction with professional TED-trained tutors helping students work on their ideas.

At TED Summer School, students will learn to shape their ideas and deliver them with clarity, confidence, and presence, culminating in each student presenting their TED-style talk. The program experience combines TED-Ed’s credibility, inspiration, and global reach with Immerse’s expertise in delivering high-quality academic enrichment programs. It empowers students to become thoughtful, articulate communicators who understand the power of their own voice.

Immerse Education: London

Why should you participate?

TED Summer School guides students through a structured, transformative journey to identify, develop, and then share their ideas in a TED-style talk. Over two weeks, students will:

1. Learn directly from TED-trained tutors who help students develop communication skills, storytelling expertise, and confidence to express their ideas with clarity and purpose.

2. Collaborate alongside and learn from peers from around the globe. Students will engage with each other through every stage of their talk development journey: from developing their big idea to stepping onto the stage with confidence.

3. Deliver their TED-style talk at the end of the two-week program and receive a recorded version to take home.

4. Earn a TED Summer School certificate of completion to add to personal accomplishments and portfolios.

You can learn more about the unique opportunities provided by TED Summer School here, and explore the financial and merit-based scholarships here.

Explore TED Summer School!

Immerse Education students

ABOUT IMMERSE EDUCATION

Immerse Education helps ambitious high-school students explore future university and career paths through personalized, transformative learning experiences. Rooted in the teaching traditions of Oxford and Cambridge, Immerse Education’s model brings expert tuition, small-group learning, and practical project work to campuses around the world and to their online programs. They create space for young people to build confidence, develop independence, and produce work they can proudly share as they shape their next steps

Photo: Ryan Lash

Writing a college admissions essay (or any essay for that matter) can be grueling. BUT—did you know that once you’ve written that essay, you’re halfway to giving a TED-style Talk? So why not register with The TED-Ed Student Talks Program to complete the process, and share your ideas with the world!

If you’re a high schooler wrapping up your college admissions essay or a student working on one of many essay assignments for class, writing is probably a regular part of your school workload. Any time you write an essay, you need to discover, develop, and share an idea clearly—and these are actually the building blocks to giving a TED-style Talk. So whether you’re workshopping edits for your admissions essay, finalizing a paper for science class, or browsing through your collected essays from years passed—you’re ready to take that extra step and transform the written word into the spoken.

Here’s what you’ve already accomplished by writing your essay:

1. You identified and explored an idea which will be the focus of your Talk.

2. You developed a throughline: your main point or argument, the magnet to which all your points are drawn (your Talk’s connecting thread).

3. You researched and fact-checked the claims which will support your talking points.

4. You outlined an introduction, a body, and a conclusion that can be mirrored in your Talk arc.

5. You combined the above elements into a cohesive whole which will provide the blueprint for your Talk.

With your essay in hand, you have the essential ingredients needed to actualize your Talk. Remember: you can accomplish things with the spoken word that you can’t with the written. You’ll sense this just by reading your essay out loud. Doesn’t this feel different from reading your essay in silence? Your job now is akin to a script editor turning a silent film into a Talkie, and both the TED-Ed screen and stage are waiting for you.

Here’s why you should turn your essay into a Talk:

1. Your idea will be made available globally on our TED-Ed Student Talks Youtube Channel and can affect those you’ve never even met.

2. You’ll take your idea further by expanding upon it. There are no character limits with Talks so your creativity can run wild.

3. You’ll enhance your idea with visuals: slides, video clips, photos, and animations…images rejoice!

4. You’ll fine-tune your public speaking skills and practice the craft (and joys!) of presenting.

5. You’ll decide who you’re speaking to: your Talk doesn’t have to be addressed to a teacher or an admissions committee, instead you get to choose your audience.

The alchemy of turning writing into speech is at your fingertips—your Talk sits hidden in your essay and it’s awaiting to be unearthed. And while there are many exciting benefits to carving a Talk out of your essay, they all have one thing in common: you get to make the most of your written efforts by enriching, informing, and enlivening them.

So register with the TED-Ed Student Talks Program and do more with what you’ve already done: join us with a group or on your own! And maybe soon you’ll be flipping the script and transforming your TED-style Talk back into a school essay.

Any dedicated educator can tell you: A teaching job extends far beyond the classroom. Molding the minds of future leaders while simultaneously ferrying them across the rapids of childhood and adolescence — and dealing with the economics of the job — is not for the faint of heart. Here are three solid reasons to give teachers the love and support they deserve.

1. Being a teacher can be tough (just about everywhere)

Teachers from around the world often struggle with similar financial issues, no matter their longitude or latitude. Many teach for the love of education and to shape the minds of the coming generations; not for the love of money. ”I took a pay cut to become a teacher. It is a calling, not a job,” says one 6th grade teacher in the TED-Ed community. “The fact is, I wake up each morning excited for what the day holds for my classroom — the challenges as much as the triumphs.” To hear from more teachers around the world about the economics of the job, read this article.

2. Educators don’t just teach, they manage a flurry of feelings

As kids age into their late teens, they simultaneously embark on an emotional journey that often plays out during school hours. Heartbreak, arguments with friends, troubled home life, struggles with mental health and schoolwork, never-before-experienced emotions, and numerous other factors typically crop up during and in-between classes. Without a parent or guardian at hand, it’s left to the teachers and school staff to tend to the emotional well-being of students. The RULER program, which is used in over 1000 schools in the US and abroad, is currently one of the most prominent tools for teaching students these 5 important skills:

Recognizing emotions in oneself and others
Understanding the causes and consequences of emotions
Labeling emotional experiences with an accurate and diverse vocabulary
Expressing and
Regulating emotions in ways that promote growth

Educator Nadia Lopez (TED Talk: Why open a school? To close a prison) has her own tips for dealing with emotions that’ve already begun to bubble over. For her advice on how to dial down conflict with administrators, scholars and staff — applicable in situations far beyond the classroom — read this article.

3. Yes, teachers help kids, but sometimes they need help too

Teachers often spend hundreds of dollars on school supplies over the course of a school year. There are many options that allow parents and other charitable individuals to support classrooms near and far. Organizations like Donors Choose allow any interested party to choose an inspiring project and donate any amount.

Or, you can always take part in chiseling down fees in your own backyard. If you’re interested in doing more, here are some tips from the TED-Ed Innovative Educators on how to help a teacher out, if time and/or resources are available.

Let’s be honest, most people have at least one story about their favorite teacher that’s left a lasting impression, shaped a lifelong interest, or helped them get through a tough time. That educator’s compassion and dedication may have even brought you to where you are now. Love is a main ingredient in what makes those memories stick — one that helped principal Linda Cliatt-Wayman (TED Talk: How to fix a broken school? Lead fearlessly, love hard) successfully turn around three schools.

As she says to her students everyday and a mantra for many educators to their kids:

This article was adapted for TED-Ed from this TED Blog post. Art credit: iStock

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Which TED Talks do students love? We asked TED-Ed Club Members around the world to share their favorites. Below, check out 9 great talks recommended by and for young people:

1. Cameron Russell: Looks aren’t everything. Believe me, I’m a model
This talk is a great reminder that it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Amelia Browne, a student in San Francisco, writes about why it inspired her: “Her story allowed me to further my understanding of the privilege and opportunity I’ve been given by today’s society. I was able to better comprehend how I use those qualities to create change for the generations to come so that there is not inherent privilege, and instead compassion and acceptance.”

2. Takaharu Tezuka: The best kindergarten you’ve ever seen
This TEDxKyoto talk is a top pick among TED-Ed Club Members. An Ji Soo, a high school student from China, says that it made her “think about the nature of education and have a critical view of it.”

3. Drew Dudley: Everyday leadership
TED-Ed Club Members love this funny talk. San Francisco student Isabella Scal believes in the message Drew Dudley is trying to spread, and says: “Small acts of kindness can change someone’s life, and each person in their own way positively affects the people around them. This talk has made me appreciate my peers and elders so much more because I know that they help(ed) to shape me into the person I was, I am, and I will be. I was so inspired by his talk that I told my friends and family how much I value their presence in my life, and I will continue to cherish their love and support unconditionally.”

4. Angela Lee Duckworth: Grit: the power of passion and perserverence
Several students recommend this talk. Koshi Joshi from Georgia says that this talk had a powerful impact on her, by teaching that “learning comes with effort and hard work, and that working hard is the key to success.” Meanwhile, Juwon Pade from Connecticut agrees with ”the idea that hard work and determination make a huge impact.”

5. Julian Treasure: How to speak so that people want to listen
Julian Treasure’s talk is another top pick by students. High schooler Karol Dobrowolski from Poland says that she took Julian’s advice — and it helped her prepare to give her TED-Ed Club talk.

6. Susan Cain: The power of introverts
Argentinian student Rachel Fan describes how Susan’s talk empowered her to start a TED-Ed Club at her school: “Susan Cain’s talk validated my feelings and experiences and empowered me to embrace my introversion, even if our culture does not. With the understanding of introversion from her TED Talk (and from her book, which I had read before seeing the talk), I gained a new way to understand the people around me, and developed an improved attitude about my own personality. Her eloquent, well-organized and confident presentation further proved her point on the power of introverts, and also reminded me not to use introversion as an excuse for not participating in important discussions and events. Furthermore, a part of why I started a TED-Ed Club at my school was because of my strong positive impression of TED Talks from when I watched Cain’s talk in class.”

7. Casey Neistat: High school stories
Californian high school student Nathan Cao says that Casey Neistat’s TEDx talk influenced his outlook on life: “Casey Neistat’s talk taught me that as I am fortunate to live in the United States and go to a great school, I must seize this opportunity to help someone else who does not receive the same luxuries that I do. This has fueled my love for community service and helping others. I often volunteer at the senior home and the homeless shelter. At the moment, I am starting a club at my school that will help the refugees who are in dire need of our support. There is so much that I can do to improve the lives of people who need it most.”

8. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story
Texan student Alisha Somani explains how Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk helped her to realize the power of perspective: “One perspective is what shapes people into being closed minded and ignorant of the world around them. This TED Talk inspired me to learn more about current events so that I would not become one of those ignorant people who thinks that everyone is the same as them and everyone has the amenities and opportunities that they do.”

9. Adora Svitak: What adults can learn from kids
This talk is a favorite for teachers and students alike, as Adora Svitak reminds us why it’s so important to listen to youth voices.

To celebrate and amplify youth voices in your community, start a TED-Ed Club.

Author bio: Annie Brodsky is a university student and occasional intern at TED-Ed. We at TED-Ed Blog think she’s fabulous. Art credit: iStock.

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Mathematician Eduardo Sáenz de Cabezón suspects that when people ask him what’s the use of math, they’re really asking why they had to study math in school. As a mathematics professor at the University of La Rioja in northeastern Spain, Sáenz de Cabezón (TED Talk: Math is forever) has come up with a spirited defense of his chosen profession. Math, he believes, is nothing less than a quest for eternal truth. Here’s why:

Math reveals unfathomable truths. Take a regular sheet of paper and start folding. If the piece of paper were big enough to be folded 50 times, Sáenz de Cabezón says, “its thickness would extend almost the distance from the Earth to the Sun.” If you’re now trying to imagine how a sheet of paper, folded 50 times, can rise nearly 93 million miles into space, you’re experiencing the strange thrill of a mathematical proof. “Your intuition tells you it’s impossible,” he says. “Do the math and you’ll see it’s right. That’s what math is for.”

Math can be as beautiful as poetry — or love. “Science operates on intuition, creativity. Math controls intuition and tames creativity,” says Sáenz de Cabezón. He admits that his colleagues fall into two camps when they’re asked why math matters: attackers and defenders. “The attacking ones are mathematicians who would tell you this question makes no sense, because mathematics have a meaning all their own,” Sáenz de Cabezón says. “There’s no point in constantly searching for all possible applications. What’s the use of poetry? What’s the use of love? What’s the use of life itself?” They have a point, he says — and so do the defenders. “Those who stand in defense tell you, ‘Even if you don’t realize it, friend, math is behind everything.’ Those guys, they always bring up bridges and computers. ‘If you don’t know math, your bridge will collapse.’” Also true. But Sáenz de Cabezón suspects that neither answer conveys the private thrill that mathematicians experience with every breakthrough in their field — and every push to help us better understand the world.

Math endures. Anyone can posit a theory of how the universe works, but math leaves no room for conjecture. Consider how long mathematicians puzzled over a proposal by Pappus of Alexandria, who theorized in around 300 A.D. that a hexagon was surely the most efficient shape for covering an infinite flat field. “But he didn’t prove it,” says Sáenz de Cabezón. “It remained a conjecture: ‘Hexagons!’” The debate raged for 1,700 years, until in 1999 American mathematician Thomas Hales offered decisive proof of what Pappus had discovered and what bees instinctively know — the most efficient shape is indeed a hexagon. “We mathematicians devote ourselves to coming up with theorems,” says Sáenz de Cabezón. These, in essence, are “eternal truths,” discoveries that are possibly the most enduring things we will ever encounter in our lifetimes.” You probably said or were told at some point that diamonds are forever,” Sáenz de Cabezón says. “That depends on your definition of forever. A theorem? That really is forever.”

To learn more about math, check out this TED-ED Lesson series. To learn more about everything, sign up for the TED-Ed weekly newsletter >>

Image credit: Emilie Soffe + How Big Is Infinity?/TED-Ed.

Editor’s note: This article is adapted for TED-Ed. A longer version appeared first on Ideas.ted.com.